Wall panel securing frame



Feb. 24, 1942. w. L. BONNELL 2,274,317

WALL I ANEL SECURING FRAME Fild Aug. 26, 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet l Feb. 24, 1942. w. L. BONNELL 2,274,317

WALL PANEL SECURING FRAME Filed Aug. 26, 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 struction and arr Patented Feb. 24, 1942 WALL PANEL SECURING FRAME William L. Bonnell, Columbus, Ohio, assignor to The B. & T. Floor Company, Columbus, Ohio,

a corporation of Ohio I I Application August 26, 1938, Serial No. 226,952

4 Claims.

This invention relates generally to the art of interior decorating and in its more particular aspects, is directed to frame means formed from ornamental molding strips and employed in the mounting of oilcloth, linoleum and similar covering materials on the floor, ceiling and other wall surfaces of a room. In using the means generally employed at the present time, the workmen installing the linoleum are required to accurately trim the edges of the linoleum at the time it is being installed. This careful trimming requires considerable time and skill on the part of the workmen. i

It is the primary object of the invention to provide means for securing these wall panels which will eliminate the necessity of such careful trimming of the ornamental material,

It is also an object of the invention to provide a molding strip which. can be applied to both horizontal and vertical comers and which has the ends terminating in planes disposed at right angles to the longitudinal axis of the strip.

It is another object of the invention to provide ornamental means to be positioned at the juncture of a plurality of strips to cover the unfinished ends of the strips and complete the decorative plan. P

A further object of the invention is the provision of an arcuate strip, the use of which will form a rounded corner between vertical and horizontal walls, this type of corner being commonly designated as a' cove. The side edges of the strip are provided with ornamental beads which will be exposed to exterior view when the strip is in applied position. The inner edges of the beads are provided with overhanging shoulders to form a channel for the reception of a strip of the wall covering, the latter serving to hide from view the means employed in securing the molding strips to the wall surfaces.

With these and other objects in view which will become apparent as the description proceeds, the invention consists in the novel features of congement of parts more particularly pointed t in the'following description and the accompanying drawings.

. In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a comer of the room to which the molding frame forming the subject matter of the present invention has been applied;

Fig. 2 is a vertical transverse sectional view taken on the plane indicated by the line 11-11 of Fig. 1;

' lar relation.

Fig. 3 is a horizontal sectional view taken through the comer of the frame, the plane of this section being indicated by the line III-III of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional view taken through the lower corner of the room on the plane indicated by the line IV--IV of Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a modified installation of the frame. This type of frame is used when the wall finishing panels terminate intermediate of the height of the wall;

Fig. 6 is a vertical sectional view taken on the plane indicated by the line VI-VI of Fig. 5;

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of a corner trim member forming a part of the wall panel securing frame Fig. 8 is a perspective view of a cap member used to close the open upper end of a frame strip when the finishing panels terminate intermediately of the height of the wall.

' Referring more particularly to the drawings, the numeral I designates the molding strip forming a part of the wall panel securing frame. The strip l is arcuate in cross section and is provided at the longitudinal edges with heads 2. The inner edges of the beads are undercut as at 3, the front surface of the body of the strip being slightly recessed with respect to the beads, to provide a longitudinally extending channel 4 for the reception of a trim strip 5 formed of linoleum or other suitable material. The body of the strip is provided at spaced intervals with perforations to receive fastening elements 6 employed in securing the strips in place. The molding strip is applied after the wall panels I have been secured to the walls. These panels are generally coated with cement and applied to the walls through the use of a roller or other pressure applying means. The edges of the strip I engage the panels I in spaced relation from the edges of the latter and hide these edges from exterior view. Since the edges are so hidden, extra care need not be exercised in trimming these edges.

To prevent the collapse of the strip when pressure is applied by means of securing elements, the rear surface of the strip is provided with a plurality of longitudinally extending ribs 8. These members will engage the surfaces of the walls or the ornamental covering secured thereto.

As the strip is designed for application to wall surfaces arranged at degrees to one another, the ribs 8 will of course also be disposed in simi- 4 At thepoint where a pair of vertical walls join with a horizontal wall, as at the floor or ceiling of a room, the complemental ends of the strips will produce a pocket. A comer wardly directed extensions l I. The rear edges of the extensions are adapted to engage the wall surfaces at the rear of the molding strips, the

latter overlying the lugs and serving to retain the comer members in applied positions. The width of the lugs I is substantially equal to the width of the space between the reenforcing ribs 8 provided on the rear surface of the molding strips. v

As illustrated in Fig. 1, the same strips may be applied to both horizontal and vertical corners and the corner members 9 may be employed at the lower as well as the upper corners of the room. If it is desired to apply the ornamental panels to the lower portion only of a wall, a short section of the same molding strip may be used in corners of the room. A finishing strip 52 is positioned at the upper edge of such a short panel, the strip I! being provided with an overhanging flange l3 to cover the raw edge of the panels.

As there is a space between the arcuate body of the molding strip I and the corner of the room, a cap member I4 has been provided to close this open end and to hide from view the unfinished end of the molding strip I. The cap member Ii is substantially triangular in shape, the outer edge being provided with a curved contour conforming substantially to the outer surface of the strip I. The under side of the cap member is formed with a downwardly projecting lug I! having at its lower end a rearwardly directed extension IS. The back surfaces of the extension are disposed at an angle to one another and are in substantially vertical registration with the rear edges of the plate or body portion of the cap member.

When the cap is in applied position, the rear edges of the cap body and the extension will engage the front surfaces of the strips l2 and the wall respectively, as shown in Fig. 6, to insure the proper position of the cap in relation to the strip. This proper position is further insured by the engagement of the side edges of the portion II with the reenforcing ribs 8 formed in connection with the rear surface of the strips l.

While there has been shown and described the preferred embodiment of the invention, it will be understood that numerous minor changes may be made in the construction and design of the parts without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as definedin the following claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a metallic frame structure for mounting wall panels, a plurality of vertically and horizontally extending molding strips each having a transversely curved body portion positioned in spaced relation from the wall when the longitudinal edges of the strip are in engagement with the panels, the body of said strip being provided with perforations for the reception of selug Hi, the outer ends of which terminate in reargamer? curing elements, a bead provided at each longitudinal edge of each strip, said beads projecting beyond the front faces of the strips to provide channels for the reception of trim strips of semiiiexible material, the inner edges of said beads being undercut to provide overhanging shoulders to retain the semifiexlble strips at their longitudinal edges, the ends of said molding strips terminating in planes disposed at right angles to the longitudinal axis thereof, the adjacent ends of said horizontal and vertical strips being spaced when said strips are in applied positions to provide pockets, a corner member positioned in said pockets, each corner member having a concavo-convex body provided with a plurality of straight edges meeting the ends of said molding strips, and a retaining lug projecting from the edges of the body of said corner member into the spaces provided between the molding strips and the wall, said retaining lugs being spaced rearwardly from the front surface of said comer member to provide shoulders to close the open ends of the channels in said molding strips and prevent longitudinal movement of the semiflexible trim strips therein.

2. In a metallic frame structure for mounting wall panels, an inner corner molding strip comprising a longitudinally extending body having a curved cross section of substantially uniform thickness, a bead provided at each longitudinal edge of said body, said beads projecting beyond the face of said body to provide a groove therebetween, a pair of rib members extending longitudinally of said body, said ribs being disposed at the rear of the body and spaced substantially equidistantly from the longitudinal axis thereof, said ribs also-being disposed in planes arranged at right angles 3. In a metallic frame structure for mounting wall panels, an inner corner molding strip comprising a. longitudinally extending body having a curved cross section of substantially uniform thickness, a bead provided at each longitudinal edge of said body, saidbeads projecting beyond 1- the face of said body to provide a groove therebetween, a pair of rib members extending longitudinally of said body, said ribs being disposed at the rear of the body and spaced substantially equidistantly from the longitudinal axis thereof, said ribs also being disposed in planes arranged at right angles, the free edge of each rib being disposed substantially in the same plane as the adjacent edge of said body.

4. In a wall panel mounting frame of the type having a molding strip provided with a transversely curved body and overhanging ribs at the edges thereof to produce a longitudinally extending groove, a trim member for finishing the end of said strip, said trim member having a body with a front surface conforming to the contour of the corresponding portion of said strip and lug means projecting from said body for insertion behind the body of said strip, said lug being spaced rearwardly from the front surface of said trim member to position said surface slightly beyond the corresponding surface of said strip whereby the groove in said strip will be closed at the end.

WILLIAM L. BONNELL. 

